I don't know anything about cams, other than a more agressive one will make my car faster.

Whats a good cam for a daily driver?

Do you need to have any mods done such as better exhaust to accomidate the cam?

I searched but all I found were numbers and referenced to things I couldn't understand. An informational link might also be helpful.

I appreciate any experiance or knowledge you guys can bring to the table.

Thanks,

Z28WannaB

 

Huge subject! There's some good general introductory infor for terminology, etc. in the Comp Cams catalog (available on-line at www.compcams.com). Pick up David Vizard's book "How to Build Horsepower" for general info on performance mods, including cams. The details are a little out of date, but the principles are valid.

One specific thing: a cam swap on a 4th gen is a big job. Unless you can do it yourself it has a poor cost/benefit ratio unless acocmpanied by cylinder head and exhaust mods as well as PCM reprogramming.

Rich Krause

 

This should help out a bit:

http://www.newcovenant.com/speedcraf...camshaft/1.htm

 

There are, of course, lots of cams to choose from, and it's easy to get lost. For an LT1, here's an idea of duration...

210/220: Strong powerband, good for a stock car

220/230: A little rougher, more power, aftermarket mods would be in your best interest for this.

230/240: A lumpy cam that only realizes it's potential with the use of P&P heads and exhaust work.

And the numbers you see are the duration of the valve being open at .050 of lift, first intake, then exhaust. The exhaust is longer on the LT1 because it doesn't flow as well. On some engines the cam choices may be better with even I/E, or with the exhaust side having less duration, as is the case with the big block caddy (1.625 exhaust valve stock, 1.84 with some port work). Every engine is different, so you've got to read up about the engine before you can make a good guess on the cam...

Anyway...

If you're keeping your car stock, go with CC304 (Comp Cams)

If you're adding bolt-ons, go with CC305.

If you're going nuts, go with CC306.

If your garage makes you dizzy from the nitrous leak, well what are you asking me for? - But if you plan on doing a lot of work you might as well get a custom grind from someone that's experienced with LT1s.

And tuning is basically a requirement when swapping cams if you want to have it running like it should. Cams that make the car lurch forward strangely when in gear need to get dyno tuning done to ensure the timing is right and so it's not lean and doesn't burn up.

Also, with your cam you'll probably want to think about this stuff:

Transmission
Suspension
Rearend
Wheels/Tires

All of the above listed will give you problems, some of which being a lack of traction, the others breaking when you finally do get enough traction...

And don't neglect your valvetrain, new springs should be a must.

There's a whole lot about cams that I couldn't possibly fit into this post, but make sure and be well informed before you buy. Most people on here seem to have bought one, then wish they had gone the next size bigger. Guess there wasn't enough lumpity-ness to it to scare people...

</Unfounded lecture>

 

first off the 306 is considered small to some people.

can you say solid roller

 

Obviously, daily driver means different things to different people

Solid roller= bad news for all those stock parts sitting in that car right now

 

dont be a wuss. you need one with about a .900 lift

 

Wow thanks everyone!

I am definitely going to be adding bolt ons.

You say I need to take the transmission into account? I currently have a broken 4L60E, its going in to get rebuilt and beefed up so that should take care of the transmission situation.

Also I feel I need to be realistic about my goals in order to select the appropriot cam, what I'd really like to see is a 12 second 1/4 time with this car with great drivability.

The rearend worries me, I have heard they've broken while stock. The stock is a 9 bolt? I know they break under too much pressure, but can it be beefed up to handle a modest amount of horsepower?

If I am going to get bolt ons, should the cam be the LAST thing I should worry about?

I also see the term of 1.6 rockers or rollers, floating around in conjunction with Cams a lot. That is the valve train correct? And is 1.6 good for a daily drivin car.

Don't get me wrong I want this car to haul, but I need it to maintain a bit of civility.

 

You'll want a 305 or 306, then. If you've got the money, a simple port & polish job on the heads would be very beneficial.

Other stuff that would be good to start out with:
Intake
Headers
Exhaust
Valve springs
Roller rockers

And throw some new pushrods & retainers in there if you feel like it, they're fairly cheap and are good insurance.

And if you're on the street, some drag radials would be a good idea too, along with some subframe connectors.

Oh, since your transmission is out I would get an aftermarket torque converter, stall somewhere between 2500 and 3000, with lockup. That will make your car a sick beast on the street.

There's lots of other suspension stuff you can do, but just remember, the harder you can punch it off the line and not break traction, the more likely your rear end is to break.

 

I suggest reading this site too then, to become familiar with engine terms so you know what's going on...

http://www.grapeaperacing.com/GrapeA...tech/index.cfm

 

Before you buy a cam to make more power get all the bolt on's first. The installs are easier and you will learn as you go. Start with intake/exhaust/pulley/suspension. Keep up on the board and you'll figure out what you want from your car.

 

I have heard a lot of mixed reviews on pulleys are they really any good?

So I can go with a cam and port n polish the head instead of just replacing it?

Can anyone reference me to an informational link on Stalls purpose. I try to find out these sort of things on my own, but often times all I can find are advertisements/size recommendations.

- Z28WannaB

 

Here's link that will give you an idea of some things possible with the LT1 cars. http://dan.esteban.com/impalass/ReturnTopET.asp

Note: these are B-bodies (Caprice, Impala SS, etc) but most are LT1 powered. They do have different rear ends, but the rest of the drivetrain is pretty much the same. The cars are heavier than the F-bodies by a bunch.

There are Bolt ons B-bodies running 12s with the stock iron heads and a milder cam than what the F-bodies got. I don't know how fast bolton F-bodies have gone yet, but I'd bet that it's in the 11s.

 

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